Star Crusader

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Platforms:

PC, Amiga, Amiga CD32

Publisher:

GameTek

Developer:

Take-Two Interactive

Genres:

Simulator / Space Combat

Release Date:

1994

Game Modes:

Singleplayer / Multiplayer

Take the best of Wing Commander, X-wing and Tie Fighter, throw in some added multimedia like voice acting and high res textures and you should have a fairly solid space combat game. Unfortunately, while Star Crusader’s presentation is top notch, the gameplay lags a bit behind. The ships that you get to fly don’t really feel like they’re flying in any given direction. Rather, it feels like you’re not moving at all, and that you’re shooting at ill defined targetes that happen to pop in front of you.

The plot follows the standard alien-human conflict. Unlike the more story-heavy Wing Commander, the plot is more of an excuse to string the missions together. The way in which the commander relays your objectives is also dull. There is speech in the briefing segments, but it’s all so static – no video at all, just audio and text. During the course of the game, you can decide which of the opposing forces to join. Both sides in the game feature different crafts. The Gorenes have rather conventional, heavily armored crafts. The rebel side is more focused on speed, subterfuge and precision.

The effort behind Star Crusader is noteworthy, but it just can’t measure up to games such as Wing Commander 3. Both in terms of storytelling and space combat, it falls far behind.